Sliding clasp fastener

ABSTRACT

A sliding clasp fastener is provided with a pair of carrier tapes each for mounting thereon a series of discrete fastener elements either of metal or plastics material. The tape has a flat side and a waled side including alternate wales and grooves extending lengthwise of the tape. A filler cord is wrapped or enclosed by the tape with its flat side engaged with the cord.

United States Patent Hasegawa et al.

[ Sept. 16, 1975 SLIDING CLASP FASTENER Inventors: Akira Hasegawa, Kurobe; Yoshiharu Yamaguchi, Manerikawa; Yoshio Matsuda, Nyuzenmachi, all of Japan Assignee: Yoshida Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha,

Tokyo, Japan Filed: Dec. 27, 1974 Appl. N0.: 536,829

Foreign Application Priority Data Dec. 29, I973 Japan 49-4183[U] US. Cl. 24/205.l6 R; 66/195 Int. Cl. A44B 19/34 Field of Search 24/205.l6 R, 205.16 C

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,061,073 l1/l936 Hendley 24/205.l6 R 3,820,202 6/1974 Takamatsu 24/205.l6 C

Primary Examiner-Bernard A. Gelak Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Bucknam and Archer [57] ABSTRACT A sliding clasp fastener is provided with a pair of carrier tapes each for mounting thereon a series of discrete fastener elements either Of metal or plastics material. The tape has a flat side and a waled side including alternate wales and grooves extending lengthwise of the tape A filler cord is wrapped or enclosed by the tape with its flat side engaged with the cord.

2 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures SLIDING CLASP FASTENER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION I This invention relates to improvements in a sliding clasp fastener and more particularly to carrier tapes designed for supporting thereon series of discrete fastener elements.

Many sliding clasp fasteners of the known type have been provided with a pair of carrier tapes of a woven structure each having a bulged or swollen marginal edge portion formed by wrapping a filler cord or core with the tape along one longitudinal edge thereof, said bulged edge portion being adapted for attachment of fastener elements of metal or plastics to the respective carrier tape. Due to relatively flat and fine surface characteristics of the woven carrier tape, it was difficult to anchor the fastener elements in place with sufficient security against displacement relative to the tape. Where the fastener elements were made of a plastics material, they were cast around the bulged edge portion of the tape but merely deposited thereon without any positive anchoring medium between the tape surface and the cast material, resulting in the fastener elements loosened off or disengaged from the carrier tape while in use. With metal fastener elements attached to such woven tape, the problem of displacement was also inevitable in addition to the fear of damaging the tape or the filler cord because it was virtually impossible to clamp a multiplicity of discrete metal elements with uniform strength to the tape edge, some of these elements being clamped too hard and causing fraying or damage to the tape and core.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is the principal object of this invention to provide new and useful improvements in a sliding clasp fastener wherein series of fastener elements whether these be made of metal or plastics material can be anchored stably into position on respective stringer tapes without damage to the filler cord or the tape fabric.

Briefly stated, the sliding clasp fastener provided in accordance with the invention comprises a pair of carrier tapes, each of said tapes having a flat face at one side and a waled face at the reverse side including a multiplicity of longitudinally extending alternate wales and grooves, series of discrete fastener elements mounted on said tapes, and a filler cord extending along one longitudinal edge of each of said tapes, said cord being wrapped around by the fabric of the tape with the peripheral surface of said cord intimately engaged with said flat face of the tape to form a bulged tape edge adapted for attachment of said fastener elements to the tape and thus with said waled face exposed around said cord.

The features which are believed to be novel and characteristic of the invention will be pointed out with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself however will be better understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings which illustrate by Way of example certain preferred embodiments which the invention may assume in practice. Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1' is a perspective view of a stringer tape for a sliding clasp fastener provided in accordance with the invention;

- FIG; 2 is a transverse cross-sectional view of the same on which a series of metal fastener elements are mounted; and

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 but showing a series of plastics fastener elements mounted on the tape of FIG. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIIVIENTS Referring now to the drawings and FIG. 1 in particular, there is shown a length of carrier tape 10 adapted to support a series of discrete interlocking fastener elements on and along one of its longitudinal marginal edges. The carrier tape 10 has a flat face 11 at one side and a waled faced 12 at the reverse side including a multiplicity of longitudinal extending alternate wales 12a and grooves 12b such as is produced by the warpknitting of a fabric. A filler cord 13 of substantially round cross section is disposed to extend along one longitudinal marginal edge of the tape 10 substantially through the entire length of the same and completely wrapped or enclosed by the fabric of the tape 10 to form a bulged tape edge 14 as seen. According to the invention, the filler cord 13 is wrapped with its peripheral surface engaged intimately with the flat face 11 of the tape 10 and with terminal portions 11' of the flat face 11 held in back-to-back abutting relation, so that the waled face 12 of the tape 10 is exposed around the bulged edge 14. This bulged edge structure is adapted to support thereon a series of discrete fastener elements 15 having a coupling head 15a and two legs 15b and 150.

An embodiment of the invention shown in FIG. 2 is directed to the use of fastener elements 15 which are made of metal. These metal fastener elements 15 are clamped,.in the usual manner, into position on the tape 10; more specifically, with the two legs 15b, and 15c mounted astride of the bulged edge 14 and terminating flush with the extremity of the terminal portions 11 of the tape 10. When thus clamping the metal fastener elements 15 to the tape 10, the legs 15b, 15c are brought into contact with the wales 12a of the tape 10, which wales 12a serve to prevent the material of the elements 15 from engaging with the grooves 12b of the tape 10 where the thickness of the tape fabric is reduced. In the event the clamping takes place with irregular degrees of pressure over the series of elements 15, such irregularities can be relaxed and adjusted by the cushioning effect offered by both the wales 12a and the filler cord 13, thereby eliminating the possibility of any localized damage to the cord 13.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the invention wherein a series of fastener elements 15 made of plastics material are attached to the tape 10. It will be seen that when the plastics elements 15 are cast around the bulged edge 14 of the tape 10, the material of the elements 15 is distributed over and deposited onto all the areas of the exposed waled face 12 of the tape 10 at the bulged edge 14 including the wales 12a and grooves 12b, so that the legs 15b, 15c of the elements 15 can be anchored in place with security against displacement.

What is claimed is:

ripheral surface of said cord intimately engaged with said flat face of the tape to form a bulged tape edge adapted for attachment of said fastener elements to the tape and thus with said waled face exposed around said cord.

2. A sliding clasp fastener as defined in claim 1 wherein said tape has a warp-knit structure. 

1. A sliding clasp fastener comprising a pair of carrier tapes, each of said tapes having a flat face at one side and a waled face at the reverse side including a multiplicity of longitudinally extending alternate wales and grooves, series of discrete fastener elements mounted on said tapes, and a filler cord extending along one longitudinal edge of each of said tapes, said cord being wrapped around by the fabric of the tape with the peripheral surface of said cord intimately engaged with said flat face of the tape to form a bulged tape edge adapted for attachment of said fastener elements to the tape and thus with said waled face exposed around said cord.
 2. A slidiNg clasp fastener as defined in claim 1 wherein said tape has a warp-knit structure. 